J Dey Murder: Chargesheet to be delayed

It will be some time before the charge sheet in the case pertaining the murder of crime journalist J Dey is filed.

It will be some time before the charge sheet in the case pertaining the murder of crime journalist J Dey is filed.

Sources in the crime branch told HT on Monday that they might make an application in the designated MCOCA court seeking more time to file the charge sheet.

After the stipulated 90-day period to file a charge sheet lapsed, the crime branch had sought a 45-day extension, which ends on November 5. Sources said the crime branch was likely to seek a further extension of 45 days.

Sources attribute the delay to some late arrests in the case. “Some of Chhota Rajan’s henchmen like Paulson Joseph and Anil Ratesar were arrested in September,” said a source. “There are still many aspects of the investigation that need to be put forth properly in order to bolster evidence against the accused.”

Sources said some clinching evidence, like forensic and ballistic reports, telephone intercepts and statements of witnesses from outside the country — like the tour guide Dey met when he went to England two months prior to his murder — is yet to be obtained.

On Monday, senior crime branch officials met senior counsel Raja Thakere, who is likely to represent the prosecution, to brush up the finer points of the charge sheet. On June 11, Dey, was shot dead by unidentified assailants at Powai.